KARACHI, June 13: Power failures continued to occur in many localities of the city on Thursday despite the fact that the temperature registered a slight decrease.

Sources in the Karachi Electric Supply Corporation said complaints of power shutdowns had been received from Kharadar, Gulistan-i-Jauhar, Gulshan-i-Iqbal, New Karachi, North Nazimabad, Pak Colony, Korangi, Nazimabad, Rizvia Society and Federal B Area.

Sohail Siddiqui, a student, said that every day his locality — Federal B Area, Block 17 — faced prolonged power shutdowns. ”It is cruel on the part of the KESC not to announce a loadshedding schedule if it must deprive city areas of power supply. I am one of those people who cannot sleep if the fan is not on. When I do not get the required hours of sleep, I become restless, unable to concentrate and study. The very idea that I am not able to study unnerves me very much.”

Another student, calling from PECHS, Block 6, said he had to use his computer for his studies. “The power supply from the KESC is so undependable that I do not know when it will go off. I have lost a lot of data because of sudden power failures.”

A resident of Gulistan-i-Jauhar, Block 16, told Dawn that his locality suffered prolonged power shutdowns every night — mostly after 1am. “It is a dreadful feeling to know while coming home from work that power supply will leave you in the lurch at night. After a day’s work a person wants to sleep without any disturbance.”

A resident of Gulistan-i-Jauhar, Block 14, told Dawn that he had had a power cut at around 1pm. The power supply had been restored at 3pm. He added that two more blocks of Gulistan-i-Jauhar — Blocks 17 and 18 — had also faced a power closure during the same time interval.

A resident of Gulzar-i-Hijri told Dawn his locality had been without electricity from 2pm to 3.30pm.

Residents calling from North Nazimabad, Blocks A and B, told Dawn their localities had faced more than one power shutdown. They said their regional complaint centres had told them that some feeders had tripped. “Tripping of feeders is their favourite excuse — it covers a large number of power faults,” one irate resident said.